[Atanvarno]

The Meaning of 2:01:39: With His Berlin Masterpiece, Eliud Kipchoge Has Brought the Era of World Record Chases to a Close

I am open to the possibility that I am wrong. Perhaps Kipchoge’s 2:01:39 opens the eyes of the rest of the world to what humans are truly capable of in the marathon, in the same way that Kipchoge’s 2:00:25 may have let him know that 2:01:39 was attainable. [...]
But I don’t see it. I suspect Kipchoge, like Radcliffe before him, is a freak talent, and Berlin 2018 was his magnum opus, proof of what he can do in the best conditions. Now that we live in a 2:01:39 world, the Era of World Record Chases is over.